We Could Run Away, Then It Might Be Okay
by The Everlasting Echo
Summary: The river has dried up and RiverClan is starving. Tawnyspot is horrified when a kittypet asks her pregnant sister to leave the Clan and go live with him so her kits will live. But it's Roseblossom's decision, and what will she decide?


__**Woo! Finally got my first challenge done for the warriors challenge forum. I'm not overly fond of it but I wanted to get it done so I could work on the many more challenges I have ^^'**

**I don't own warriors in any way, shape or form.**

**Hope you enjoy~!**

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_Considering the circumstances, I can't say I'm too surprised that Roseblossom left RiverClan and became a kittypet. The Clan was weak, and we were starving. The river had dried up due to the most severe drought in any living cat's memory, leaving little more than a stream in the dusty riverbed._

_RiverClan was desperate, secretly stealing prey from both ThunderClan and WindClan. We hadn't been caught yet but we were bound to be soon._

_And to add to the trouble, Roseblossom was expecting kits. And surely they and she would have perished had she remained. Right? That's what I tell myself and still to this day I try to convince myself that she made the right choice, that she wasn't abandoning us. She was just doing what was best for her kits._

_I still remember the day she left..._

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Just another day in RiverClan, every cat struggling to do what they could to get through this drought. Roseblossom was a moon into her pregnancy, and was frighteningly thin despite this. We all were, most of us little more than skin and bones.

My sister was tired of sitting around camp all day and being fussed over by the Clan, so the both of us decided to leave and go relax somewhere, spend some quality time together because we hadn't had to opportunity to do so in so long.

And that's how we ended up at the river, if you could even call it that anymore...

Roseblossom gasped when she saw it. "Oh Tawnyspot! It so much worse than I remember!"

My eyes softened and I touched the end of my tail to the dark creamy fur on her shoulder. "Yes." I admitted softly. "There's hardly any fish left now. I don't know how much longer we'll be able to go on."

I was a bit surprised when she growled, digging her claws into the sandy ground. "Why is StarClan punishing us? What did we do wrong?"

I wouldn't admit it, but I was thinking the same thing. As far as I knew the other Clans were suffering due to the weather just as much as we were, but they weren't the ones who depended on the river for most of their food. With no fish, we had close to nothing. As the waterline had receded, we'd be constantly finding dead fish on the banks, and we'd be forced to eat them, because smelly fish was better than nothing.

Roseblossom just sighed when I didn't respond, and lay herself down carefully onto the ground, sneezing at the dust that wafted up into the air and into her face. She growled, "I _hate_ this."

I settled myself next to her, my own creamy colored pelt resting against hers, flicking an ear in agreement. The air throughout the territory had developed a dry, hot and almost gritty quality to it, sometimes making it difficult to breathe. Elders, kits and young apprentices were having a particularly hard time handling though the air here by the water wasn't as bad, it was still dry.

"Tawnyspot?" Roseblossom mewed quietly after a short silence.

"Hm?" My head had dropped down onto my paws and I glanced up, meeting her blue gaze, and was startled to see fear in her expression.

"Roseblossom, what's wrong?" I asked, concerned. I didn't see her like this often, but it seemed to be happening more frequently lately. The last time she looked so visibly vulnerable was after her mate Trushpelt died due to the drought a half moon ago. And he wasn't the only one, we'd lost several elders, kits and apprentices, even a few other warriors.

"I- I'm scared Tawnyspot." She whispered, looking away. "I'm scared for my kits, for me. Even for the Clan. How much longer can we last like this? It really hit me how bad it was getting when Thrushpelt died. He was so strong..." She trailed off miserably, shaking her head.

I just started at her, not sure what to say. After a few heartbeats I pressed my muzzle against hers, inhaling her warm, familiar scent. "We're best friends as well as sisters." I murmured at last. "And I promise to protect you no matter what. We'll find a way to keep you and your kist alive."

Before she could respond, a startled gasp sounded from the ThunderClan side of the river. Looking up I saw a gray tabby tom staring at us, his green eyes wide in shocked horror. He was a kittypet by the plump overfed look he had about him. No way a ThnderClan cat was that fat, especially nowadays.

The tom padded towards us, leaping over what remained of the river easily, and I suddenly felt strangely self-conscious of his stare. Of my dull pelt and just how thin I really was. Even Roseblossom, who was always one of the first, and sometimes only, to be fed was stick thin. I could easily make out all her ribs underneath her matted fur and only the slight roundness in her stomach gave away that she was expecting kits.

I instinctively moved between my sister and the kittypet, and I extended my claws and gave him a low hiss of warning.

But the tom ignored it and came to a stop about a fox length away from us, and I had to fight to suppress a snarl that I felt bubbling up as I saw the pity in his eyes. There was no way I wanted a_ kittypet's_ pity.

"What happened to you two? You look starving, did you get lost from your housefolk's den?" He asked.

I opened my mouth for a sharp retort to his question, but Roseblossom beat me to it. "We're warriors, and we scorn the soft kittypet life of eating slop and being twoleg toys."

"It's really not that bad." The tabby meowed quietly as if to defend himself. "And you both seem like you could eat just about anything now." He paused, then added, "I'm Oliver, what're your names?"

"I'm Tawnyspot and she's my sister Roseblossom." I muttered, my eyes narrowing. "And you're on RiverClan territory. You should leave now before I'm forced to chase you out."

Oliver scoffed at this, his voice teasing but his expression was serious. "You hardly look like you could chase off a _mouse_ in the state you're in."

I growled at this, my claws digging into the sandy ground, but before I could leap at him, Roseblossom touched her tail to my flank, and when I glanced at her there was just a dull look in her eyes. "Just let him go. He's not worth it. Besides," she added seriously, "if you get hurt who'll look after me once my kits come?"

Sighing, I nodded. She had a point I guessed. Looking back at the kittypet, I saw that his startled gaze now lay on Roseblossom. He took several steps towards her and inhaled her scent.

"You... You're having _kits_?" He mewed, tone disbelieving. "You shouldn't be out here in these conditions! You need to be someplace warm and safe. Well fed so both you and the kits are healthy!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, _Oliver_." I meowed curtly. "But the rivers dried up, so we don't have anymore fish. Our whole Clan is like this."

The fat tabby tom shook his head disbelievingly. "But a pregnant she-cat should hardly be here. I doubt the river will be back anytime soon, and unless you want both her and the kits to die..." He hesitated, but then meowed firmly. "Roseblossom should come back to twolegplace. My housefolk will care for her and the kits and make sure they're strong and healthy."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My lips curled back in a snarl, "How _dare_ you suggest such a thing you wimpy little kittypet. Leave now. Or I will make you."

Oliver just shook his head sadly. "I am just trying to help you." But he turned and disappeared back into ThunderClan territory, probably going back to his housefolk's den.

Once he was gone I turned to my sister, mewing, "Can you believe him? Suggesting you become a kittypet?"

But I blinked in surprise as Roseblossom's expression was one of regret and conflicting emotions. Frowning, I touched my nose to her ear. "What's wrong? You can't seriously be considering his offer, can you?"  
She sighed and shook her head slightly. "Let's just go back to camp."

And with that said, she turned and padded back into the reeds towards camp.

Now not knowing what to think, I followed close behind her, wondering what was going on inside her head.

* * *

It was two days later, after yet another warrior left us for StarClan, that I awoke and saw that Roseblossom had gone. I followed her scent trail out of camp and paused when I reached the border with ThunderClan.

After I was sure there were no patrols around, I followed, scared of what I would find once I found her. And sure enough, when I got to twolegplace and jumped up to perch atop of a fence, I saw my sister standing outside the nest, talking to Oliver. As I watched, the gray kittypet nodded, and they both disappeared through a flap in the door and into the den.

I waited outside for one, or both of them to come back outside, and Oliver finally emerged from the den a little after sunhigh. He seemed surprised to see me, but explained that Roseblossom came that morning, saying she wasn't overly fond of becoming a kittypet, but wanted to do what was best for her kits.

When I said that I wanted to see her the tabby explained that his housefolk had taken her to the vet to make sure everything was okay and that she was healthy. He promised they'd be back with her by sundown and to come back to see her then, but I insisted on staying, as I dind;t want to miss her.

And sure enough, later on the twolegs returned with her, and Oliver brought her outside to see me.

She seemed terrified of facing me, but I made it clear to her that I wasn't mad at her, and understood that she was just trying to do the best thing for her kits.

Roseblossom looked relieved, and she thanked me for being so understanding.

I stayed with her until it was dark out, before reluctantly returning to RiverClan.

I made sure to visit her from time to time, and a moon later she gave birth to two healthy kits, after regaining her strength thanks to the twolegs. A tom she named Thrush after her lost mate, and a she-kit named River, after the Clan she'd left. Looking at them I found myself almost... happy she'd come here, where her kits were strong instead of staying in the Clan where they almost certainly would have perished.

_Maybe twolegs do have their uses. _

Eventually the rain returned, and brought the River with it. The Clan became strong and well fed once again, and I tried to convince my sister to come back to us, but she felt her place was as a kittypet now, living with Oliver and her kits.

I didn't exactly agree with that, as I believed she belonged with RiverClan, but no matter what I'd still respect and care for my beloved sister.

_Even is she was a kittypet._

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**Oh I hate the ending so much XD I kinda just bs-ed my way through it because I'd lost my muse for this but wanted to finish it... *sigh* Oh well.**

**I hope you liked it anyway ^^'**

**Review with your thoughts~**

**~Berry~**


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